I Will Not Fold
by oswwinoswald
Summary: Present day AU - Mary is the daughter of a very successful Scottish business man and Francis is the son of a wealthy french nobleman, they grew up together and spent every summer together until age 11, now their 17 and Mary returns, feelings develop a summer romance ensues, but can they stay together despite their parents mysterious efforts to keep them apart? (Mary/Francis)
1. Follow the Leader

**AN - I promise these will be at the bottom from now on and rather short, but I'd like to explain a few minor things. This story is an AU that takes place in present day 2013/2014, in this story Francis is the son of a very rich French noble man and Mary is the daughter of an _extremely _successful business man from Scotland who's done close business with Francis' father in the past, which is why as children they played together and also why she spent her summers there. Like in the show the accents will be English instead of French and Scottish like the would have been, however Francis can speak french, obviously as do most of the homes servants. Because this is present day relationships are a lot less formal, although they are expected to be somewhat formal, the rules aren't as strict clearly, so I've turned the characters into present day versions of themselves, Mary is adventurous, stubborn, and kind, and Francis is brave, somewhat bashful well also being confident and polite. The reason I wrote this is just in case the characters seem oddly OOC at first. I hope you enjoy! The more reviews the faster chapters will come! :) Thank you! xoxo Jess**

Chapter 1 – Follow the Leader

Mary twirled her thumbs nervously as her car approached the drive way of the beautiful French mansion, she gazed longingly at the lavish marble pillars and delicately carved stone lions that guarded the homes ice white ivory steps. It hadn't changed a bit, frozen in all its glory as if it were a photograph, she smiled thoughtfully, remembering how she and Francis used to play tag in the homes never ending gardens, and how he'd always have to slow himself down so that she could catch up to him…his legs had always been longer than hers, but she imagined what had been a bad thing when they were children was a good thing now.

As the car pulled to a stop she could feel eyes on her just past the thin tented window, her stomach fluttered with butterflies as she stepped from the shade of her car into the bright mid-afternoon sunlight, she blinked a few times, ridding the sunlight from her eyes, and glanced towards the steps. Nearly the entire Valois household was standing in her wake smiling at her kindly, she returned their kindness with a shy smile, as Henry Valois, known to her for most of her life as Sir Valois, stepped forward to greet her, "Dear Mary, look how you've grown, the last I saw of you, you were barely eleven and now, well, you're a grown women." he said with a smile that seemed genuine, but for some reason she found herself questioning it's truthfulness.

Regardless Mary smiled bashfully at the noblemen's complement and replied with a nod, "Thank you kindly for letting me stay for the summer Sir Valois."

"The pleasure is mine," just as he said this the front door of the mansion opened and a tall slender boy with wavy blond hair and cornflower blue eyes made his way towards them, he was dressed simply in a patterned button down shirt and a grey blazer, his smile held a familiar air of mischief that she recognized immediately, "I take it you remember my son? Francis?"

Mary nodded as Francis took her hand a placed a delicate kiss on her knuckles, the gesture was old fashioned but one she enjoyed none the less. "How could I forget." She said with a kind smile.

"Mary, I can hardly believe it's you…" he said clearly surprised, she couldn't blame him, she defiantly didn't look a think like she had at eleven, her hair was much longer and curlier now then it was then, her eyes had lightened from a nearly black shade of brown to a fitting warm chocolate color, not to mention she was taller and she'd moved from a training bra to a snug fitting B, "You're certainly not eleven anymore." He said, finding it necessary to state the obvious.

"I'm not the only one; if it weren't for that smile I wouldn't have recognized you." she lied. He was Francis, and it was obvious. A much older more attractive version of Francis, but Francis never the less.

He laughed and offered her his arm, "I can show you around if you'd like?"

She glanced at Sir Valois who gave her a small nod, "I would." She said taking his arm with little care as he led her into the house.

He showed her from room to room giving her less than exciting information about each until they reached the kitchen, which was empty due to the staff having been called to greet her, he began to laugh and released her arm, "God, Mary, can you believe they make us greet each other that way? You're my best friend you'd think they'd let me hug you in public." He said grabbing her by her waist and spinning her around into a comforting hug, "It's insane they make us pretend we haven't seen each other in six years."

Mary laughed with him and hugged her old friend, it was true for a few years after her last summer at the mansion they'd lost contact, but luckily she'd mistakenly bumped into him at a gala when they were fourteen and they'd quickly rekindled their friendship, although their fathers both seemed to be against the idea for some mysterious reason and hadn't allowed them to see each other except on special unavoidable occasions, though that hadn't stopped them from texting and Skyping whenever possible. Until last month when her father had uncharacteristically decided she'd be spending the summer at Valois House which she, of course, hadn't argued about, "Insane, huh?" she inquired coyly.

"Well obviously, look at you, who in their right mind could spend six whole years away from you?"

She snickered, "Flattery will get you nowhere."

"Dammit," he faked a pout, "and here I thought I was getting somewhere?" he laughed, "So how are your girls?"

"Hmm?" she said confused for a moment before realizing he met her best friends, "Oh! Well Keena is convinced I came here to spend the summer snogging you, Greer has a new boyfriend who's apparently a really good cook and really, really middle class, Aylee is convinced she's going to prison for stealing her stepmothers diamonds and Lola is just…Lola."

Francis smiled, "Sounds like a normal day in the life of Miss. Mary Stuart."

"Typically, and you? How are your brothers?"

"Charles and Henry are good, they're dying to meet you actually."

"Me?"

"Yes, I think their exact words were, 'Is Mary the pretty girl from the computer screen?' and 'Do we get me meet her? I wanna meet her first because you're gonna marry her one day.'"

"Oi, marriage? Francis you know you have to actually ask me first?" she joked shoving him gently.

"Hey, they're not the only ones, Keena seems to think you're saying here to, what was it again? Spend the summer snogging me?"

She snorted, "You wish."

"Or maybe _you_ do?" he teased raising an eyebrow and running from the kitchen up the stairs towards his room, she followed behind him, finding it terribly difficult to keep up with the taller boy, she raced into his room after him where she found him sitting on his bed legs crossed liked he'd been there ages, "Took you long enough." He prompted.

She crossed her arms seemingly done with their little race, when much to his surprised she bounded across his large room and pounced on him, her arms locking around his neck as they fell back against the neatly ironed satin sheets, they laughed, and she pushed herself up so she was looking down at him, "Did I win?" she asked looking into his blue eyes.

"Um, no, if I recall correctly, and I do, I got here first?" he replied starring up at his childhood friend, though truth be told…she wasn't a child anymore…not at all. Neither of them were children, nor were they dating despite the numerous speculations, however they had managed to find themselves in a fairly compromising position, not that he minded and by the looks of it neither did she, to be perfectly honest it seemed they were both as comfortable with each other as they were with their closest friends, maybe that's because they were each other's closest friends? He didn't really know, but he did know he had a very beautiful women on top of him and for once he wasn't planning to sleep with her.

"Still," she said, "I win because I tackled you. Don't you remember? That was how we used to play as children."

"Only because it was so easy to tackle you back then."

"And it's not easy to tackle me now?" she said cocking an eyebrow.

"Not without looking like a rapist."

"Do it I dare you. Tackle me. Person who ends up on top wins. I won't think you're a rapist, I swear."

He snorted, "Okay, so do I have to tackle you from way over there or…"

But it was too late she'd already tightened her grip on his shoulders pinning him against the mattress as best she could, though her attempts were futile against his strong swift arms and within seconds she was under him. He looked down into her eyes, "I win."

She laughed and he relaxed a bit, before realizing this was a huge mistake as he suddenly found himself under her again, "No you don't. Rule one: Never let your guard down."

He rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

"So, what's my prize?" she asked playfully.

"What do you want?"

"Hmm, a star named in my honor, a yacht, a song about me sung by Nate Ruess."

"Well don't we have an imagination? Something I can actually get you?"

"Okay then, you have to be my personal alarm clock the rest of the summer."

"What does that mean?"

"You have to wake me up every morning, and sweetly too, no throwing water on me and I swear to god if I wake up to find you putting gum in my hair or shaving cream on my face then I will expect a yacht. A real one."

He laughed, "Deal."

Just as the deal was made, a knock at the door, followed by a maid, made them freeze where they were, which happened to be…sadly, the same terribly compromising position from earlier, the maid who hadn't actually noticed them yet, looked up with a gasp and commenced to smacking Francis over the head with a wash towel and screaming, "You perverted, perverted boy. Miss. Stuart is here two minutes and you've already tricked her into your bed. You are an awful scoundrel, Francis Valois, I will not stand for this you…you…you impudent child." In French.

She refused to listen to Francis who was desperately begging for mercy and trying to explain the situation to the maid whose name was surely Lucinda, counting how many time Francis shouted it.

Finally Mary spoke up, "Lucinda, he didn't touch me I swear. We were playing, like we did when we were kids."

Lucinda stopped hitting Francis, "You are not children anymore Miss. Stuart. You are both seventeen years old, do you have any idea what it looks like you were doing?"

Mary blushed vibrantly and nodded, "Honestly nothing came of it." She begged, but Lucinda continued scolding them.

"You cannot just run around mounting boys as if they are horses, you do not want to be considered a whore, do you?" at that point Francis stepped between them.

"That is enough!" he shouted at the women, "Mary is our guest and a very dear friend of mine. You will _not _speak to her that way. We have been friends for a very long time, what we were doing was a mere show of friendship and even if it hadn't been you reacting as you did is unacceptable. I will not have it."

At that point Francis' father and mother barged in as well demanding to know what had happened and the two teenagers were having a hard time explaining exactly what it was they'd been doing when Lucinda had found them, especially since the position Lucinda had explained to Catherine and Henry seemed fairly self-explanatory in most cases except for, coincidentally, theirs.

Henry excused Lucinda with a quick cold flip of the wrist as Catherine starred disapproving at the teenagers, though her cold glare seemed to be directed, for the most part at Mary.

"What in gods name was going on in here?" Sir Henry boomed.

"Nothing happened, we were just—" Mary began, but found herself cut off by another spout of Henry's voice.

"My son's explanation please Mary."

Francis gulped and met his parent's eyes, "Nothing. We were playing an old game, one we'd invented as children, honestly it was nothing, but a game."

"What game is this exactly?" Catherine asked sternly, glaring at the pair with disappointment.

Francis and Mary glanced at each other before Francis said, a little ashamed, "A version of tag that is won by the person who ends up on top."

Catherine's eyes grew wide, "On top of the other person?"

Francis nodded.

Henry who looked a little less angry and more curious now asked, "And who ended up on top?" that earned his a sharp scolding and a slap from Catherine, but it was obvious by the look in his eyes he expected an answer.

Francis' cheeks flushed, "She did." He said, with the tiniest hint of embarrassment.

This earned an amused laugh from Henry, "She topped you? Honestly I knew you weren't the strongest Francis, but she topped you?"

"I didn't want to hurt her!" Francis shouted.

Mary caught his arm trying to calm him as she added, "He did top me once, but he let his guard down."

Only after she'd said the words did she realize they sounded as if they had a more negative connotation then they actually did, which caused her to blush brightly as well.

"This is entirely inappropriate." Catherine yelled, "I knew you two had grown close, but this isn't even acceptable on those terms. Not even if she were your girlfriend would that be acceptable."

"We were playing, not having sex." Francis countered.

"Be that as it may, I do not want to find the two of you in a position such as that ever again, am I clear?" Mary and Francis glanced at each other, and nodded, "And please. Restrain from entering each other's rooms again, understood?"

The two nodded again.

"Then you may go."

Francis and Mary nodded yet again and dashed across the room a faster than normal speed, rushing into the hall way both full of relief.

"I'm so sorry about that…my parents are—"

"Not the only ones who would have assumed that? I should be apologizing anyway_. I_ tackled _you_."

He smirked, "You got us thrown out of each other's rooms, so much for the alarm clock idea."

"Oh no, you're still doing it."

"Why?"

"Because if you don't you owe me a yacht." She teased.

He rolled his eyes, "Breaking the rules for you already. You are a terrible influence."

She laughed, "You love it."

She always had been the more adventurous of the two, always coming up with some big idea that Francis would surely go along with. She used to lead him around everywhere when they were kids, she was bossy and possessive, with a undeniable stubbornness that couldn't be avoided. She refused to give up or give in and yet managed to remain kind and loving in all lights. It was something he'd always liked about her. Something that made him sure, no matter where this girl went…he would follow.

* * *

**AN - What do you think? Got a little touchy feely there. Hope you enjoyed please leave a review for a quicker update!**


	2. More Than a Business Man's Daughter

Chapter 2 – More than a Business Man's Daughter

"I want her gone." Catherine said in a displeased manner as she glided down one of the many flights of stairs that decorated her home, Henry was at her heals, telling her repeatedly to lower her voice, though the distressed noble women didn't seem to hear him, "This will end badly I can feel it." Catherine said clutching her hands over her heart, which in turn wrinkled the neckline of her cashmere sweater, "What were you thinking? Inviting her back here, what made you think that ever a good idea?"

"Her father and I have an agreement, it's just for the summer Catherine, and then she'll be gone for good."

"And she'll leave our son heartbroken on the sidelines." Catherine said pointedly.

"She may not, Mary is a beautiful girl it's true, but there's a possibility Francis won't find her nearly as charming as everyone else seems to,"

Catherine scoffed, "I think it's fairly obvious her charms have already taken effect."

"Like I said she's beautiful, but will that be enough? Francis isn't the kind of man who only appreciates appearance, her personality will count too."

"They've been friends for nearly fifteen years Henry. He's had time to decide whether or not he likes her _personality _and if their little escapade upstairs says anything at all it defiantly says he does."

"Then we'll distract him."

"From the girl sleeping in the room down the hall from him? How in god's name do you intend to do that?"

"He's seventeen, I say it's about time we introduce him to possible wives, don't you?"

"And if he decides Mary is better than these 'possible wives'?"

"He won't. He's a man, no man can resist a mountain of eager women."

Catherine was quiet for a long time and when she spoke again her eyes were softer, "Francis is not you Henry. He doesn't fawn over just any women who knocks on his bedroom door. He's a lover, not a fighter, but I think you'll find when it comes to what he loves his ability to fight, as well as his will, triples. If he falls in love with this girl…with Mary…he will not let her go easily, even you, as far away from knowing him as you are, can surely see that."

"Considering the circumstances…it would seem he will have to." Henry replied, leaving the conversation hanging in the air, as well as a concerned Catherine in the hallway.

…**.**

Mary listened intently as Francis told her about the various scandals he'd been involved in over the past few years, the real story, not the one the press told. He'd explained many of them to her before through video chats and text messages, but hearing him explain them again when they were face to face was much nicer, the two of them were curled up on one of the couches in the library since they'd been banned from each other's rooms, along the way Mary had found her way into her aged plaid pajama pants and a close fitting yellow t-shirt.

She laughed as he explained the real story about a certain royal groom finding him in a closet with a certain royal bride's sister.

"So you never actually snogged Pippa Middleton then?" Mary said with a giggle.

He returned her laugh, "No, she was _crying alone in a closet_, I had to make sure she was alright."

"Well aren't you a gentlemen, and here half the world is stuck thinking you're a terrible person to snog a vulnerable women on her sister's wedding day, and the other half is peeping through frosted windows trying to figure out if you and Pippa are still going at it."

"Not at all, I haven't seen her but once since. I don't know if you've heard, but she's kind of thirty and I'm kind of seventeen."

"Eighteen next week," Mary corrected picking up her mug of hot chocolate and taking a sip, "but I suppose you have a point."

He nodded, "But I'm not the only one whose been caught snogging in the past year am I? Who was it again? That Irish member of One Direction?"

She nearly choked on her drink, "What?" she said forcing herself to swallow.

"I'm going to take that as a no, then?"

"He looks about twelve."

"So a hell no then?"

"I mean not a hell no, but not my first choice, what is this rumor about?"

He adjusted himself so he could reach his phone and pulled up a photo of her kissing a blond haired boy, "Looks legit, it was all over the teen magazines and tabloids like a month ago, Naill dickless Horan has a new girlfriend, remember?"

She snorted barely able to contain her laughter, "Jealous much?" she asked arching an eyebrow.

"No, I'm not it's just…he probably has his nubby little fingers all over hundreds of girls a week, and I don't think you should be treated like that is all."

She sighed, "Well the picture is legit."

His mouth gapped open, "What?"

"Yep," she smiled, "it's a legit picture of us when we were fifteen." She shook with a storm of violent laughter at the confused look on his face.

"Us?" he asked baffled.

"Yes." She said not completely done laughing, "It was back when you had that ridiculous short hair cut, I suppose from the back you do sort of look like him, but you're taller."

"Me?"

"Do you not remember?"

He was silent for a while looking from the picture to her, "…"

"You don't do you? It's alright it wasn't as important for you as it was for me." She said, although she had to admit she was a little disappointed he didn't remember.

"Why was it important for you?" he asked in a small voice, knowing he'd struck a serious cord.

"Um…" she looked at her hands and blushed, "n-no reason…"

"What is the reason Mary?" he prodded.

"It isn't important…" she said begging for the heat in her cheeks to disperse.

"Yes it is or you wouldn't be blushing so much…"

"That was, uh, that was my first kiss."

"What?" he seemed extremely angry all of the sudden, but not with her, more like an inward frustration, "So let me get this straight, you kissed me and I don't remember it? And to make matters worse it was your first kiss. I don't remember being your _first _kiss?"

"Actually, _you _kissed me, and I'm not all that surprised you don't remember, you were a little bit tipsy if I remember it right."

"So I was drunk too? Great." He said sarcastically, dropping his head into his hands.

She laughed and snuck off the couch bending down on her knees in front of Francis, she quietly reached up and pulled his hands away from his face, "It's okay, really, it is. Like I said I didn't expect you to remember."

He managed a small smile, "What an awful first kiss it must have been."

"Not really…it was…nice."

"Nice? I must have smelled dreadfully of alcohol."

She snickered at the memory, "You did, but it's okay."

He made a small embarrassed noise and looked down at her, "Let me make it up to you."

"What?" she replied startled, surely he didn't mean…

"I promise it won't mean anything…I just…I don't smell like alcohol, and I'll actually remember this one, maybe I can make it up to you?"

She laughed at his bashful way of asking, but wasn't sure how to respond.

He wrapped his hands around Mary's, "Your first kiss should mean something Mary."

She reached out and touched his face softly, "It did mean something," she placed a light kiss on his cheek, "really, don't feel bad. Honestly, it was the best first kiss I ever had." Her once serious tone took on a lighter cadence as her last sentence took a dive into a pool of sarcasm, and once more her laugh, which had been ringing throughout the library until a few moments ago, broke out again.

"Ha ha very funny." Francis said dryly.

"Aren't I?" she mused.

"No." he said trying too hard to keep from laughing and allowing a smile to spread over his lips.

"See that," she smirked and tapped her lips, "I am." She said proudly.

Just as she did Catherine walked into the room proudly as always, holding her head high, she spotted Mary and Francis and her proud smile quickly switched to cold glare, she tapped her diamond studded wrist watch, "One in the morning, isn't it about time you two went to bed?"

Mary smiled at the cold hearted women politely, "I was just about to say that very thing." She stood smoothing out her rumpled pajamas, "Want to walk with me Francis?"

"Yes I wou—" Francis began to say, before his mother interrupted.

"Actually dear, I'd like to talk to you about something, do you think you can find your way to your room on your own Mary?"

Mary shot her a skeptic look, but nodded, "Yes ma'am, see you tomorrow Francis?"

He grinned, "Bright and early."

She laughed remembering their deal, "Goodnight Francis, goodnight Mrs. Valois."

"Sleep well Mary." Catherine said although Mary could feel the ice in her voice as she stepped into the hallway and headed back towards her room.

…..

Back inside the library Catherine looked at her son with mixed emotions, trying to decide whether or not she should tell him about the future wives his father was planning to distract him with or if she should tell him about the return of his younger brothers that was taking place tomorrow, she decided to save the less savory topic for a later date and joined her son on the couch that had been previously occupied by Mary, "What is it you wanted to talk about mother?" the look on her sons face was one of great uncertainty.

"Well of your brothers of course, Charles and Henry get into town tomorrow you know."

"They do don't they? I'd nearly forgot the train was bringing them in, will we be meeting them in Paris?"

"That is the plan it would seem, but what with Mary here…"

"Mary can join us, they boys are dying to meet her and she them."

"Really?"

"Yes of course, it'll be great to have her there with us, we could leave early so I can show Mary around Paris, she'll love it."

"Surely in all the years she's spent here she's been to Paris before Francis."

"That's true, but who doesn't love Paris?"

"You make a good point dear, but don't you want to spend time with the family?"

"Mary has known us for many years, is she not family?"

Catherine cocked a perfectly plucked eyebrow, "Not exactly."

Francis starred at her for a long moment, "You don't like Mary do you?"

"It's not that I don't like her Francis it's just that I'm not sure she's exactly what you need at this point in your life…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" he said accusingly.

"I just don't think you should get involved with—"

"Involved? Mary and I aren't involved she's my friend, nothing more." He said though even he had to admit that wasn't entirely true, she had just kissed him on the cheek a moment ago and he did find everything about her quite enticing.

"Are you completely sure? Because even best friends who haven't seen each other for a time are usually rather awkward when they meet again, but you two seem as if you'd never been separated."

He shrugged, "What can I say? We're close, nothing more."

"Closeness is one step towards intimacy, I understand you may come to feel something for this girl, I could say you do now based on how you look at her when you think she isn't paying attention, but you must understand Francis, your duty is more than just to yourself. You are not a normal teenager, who you love _does_ affect this family. You owe your family more than the daughter of a business man."

"Owe my family? What about me? What about my happiness? And what do you mean based on how I look at her? I look at her just like I look at everyone else."

Catherine's face was soft, and she held claim to a sad smile, she reached up and placed a calming hand on her sons cheek, "You're just like your father, blind to your own emotions…You've been face to face with each other one day, just one day and it's already as obvious as a black stain on a white dress, it may not have reached your heart yet, but it's visible in your eyes, you feel something for her. Maybe you have for a long time, but you need to realize it isn't exactly up to you who you love, you're the oldest son in a house of nobles…you're expected to marry the title, not the person, and Mary…she's as title-less as a house cat."

The look in Francis' eyes was painful for Catherine to see, he looked as if he'd just had all his freedom taken from him, "Enough!" he shouted, "Even if I did love Mary, _if , _is her title really all that matters to you? Is my happiness not enough? Does the importance of your title outweigh the importance of your son? My god mother, I knew you were gone, but I didn't think you were as far gone as that…I never thought you were anything near as power hungry as father, but I can see now I was wrong. You know, somehow, you always seemed like the type of person who'd put the happiness of your children ahead of the prosperity of our title…always…but maybe you aren't who I thought you were." He said standing up and heading for the door before stopping to look at his mother once more, "And for the record Mary is much more than just the daughter of a business man, and I would be lucky to have her."

Catherine jumped at the sound of the libraries heavy door slamming shut, clearly Mary would simply have to go.

* * *

**AN - What do you think will happen? Leave a review to let me know or for faster updates! :) **

**PS**

**Valois was the name of Henry's court so I used that for their last name and obviously Mary Stuart has a last name. I Will Not Fold, which is the title, is a lyric from Scotland by The Lumineers (the shows theme)**

**You also may have noticed the way the characters speak is a little old fashioned, but they are all very well educated nobles so they are pretty proper, I'm making Francis a will be Duke and Henry the actual Duke, and yes marriage is still sort of important for nobles. **

**(WHAT ABOUT THE MID SEASON FINALE THOUGH?)**

**Please review it helps so much and thanks to all of my reviewers so far 3**


	3. Judge Mary

Chapter 3 – Judge Mary

Mary lay awake in bed listening to the fighting coming from below. She could only hear parts of what they were saying, some better than others…something she'd heard that made her as attentive as possible had been Francis uttering the words, _"Even if I did love Mary, if…" _the words had brought color to her cheeks even amongst the darkness of her bedroom, it was only an if…but at least it made everything seem a little more…possible.

She bit her lip, she liked being a factor even if she was just a thoughtless _if. _An if was better than a no, which she'd kind of assumed was the position she held. She'd always been the no…the best friend not the girl friend, but maybe she'd always sort of hoped she could be the girl friend not the best friend. Francis was handsome…he'd always been handsome and kind and funny and one of the few people who wasn't afraid to fight with her, which she liked…So maybe over the years she'd sort of began to hope that maybe he didn't think of her strictly as _the best friend _either. Maybe she still hoped. Maybe.

She took a deep breath and shut her eyes, she'd hadn't heard anything after that except the sound of a heavy door slamming and boots on the stairs.

She watched the shadows under her door as someone hesitated outside and recognized Francis' voice uttering a nearly silent curse word before the steps continued down the hall and a door slammed shut.

She bit her lip and with a heavy heart closed her eyes and tried to sleep

…..

The next morning Francis hesitated outside of Mary's room…he'd thought maybe she was awake, but the lack of light under the door told a different story. Did he really have to do this? Wake her up? How was he even going to wake her up? He hadn't thought this through…he took a deep breath, twisted the door knob, and peered in, as he expected she was sound asleep, her chest rising and falling in unison with her breathing, her eyes closed so that her thick dark lashes rested on her cheeks, he smiled. She was beautiful…had she always been beautiful? Had he not noticed? Why was he suddenly noticing now? Little Mary Stuart wasn't so little anymore, she wasn't a girl…she was a women, but when had that happened? When had they grown up? He searched his memory for a turning point, but found none.

He took a small quiet breath and moved closer to her so that he was standing at her bedside, calmly he leaned down and brushed a few loose strands of ebony waves away from her face. Had his mother been right? Did he feel something for Mary? He hadn't thought so a minute ago…or at least he hadn't thought he felt anything serious, mild attraction at best, mainly because…well because she was a girl and he was a boy and attraction was inevitable…but what if his mother was right? What if he did care for Mary and he just hadn't realized it yet?

He looked at her, really looked at her, and noticed that he couldn't find one thing he didn't like about her…not her face, not her personality…he liked everything about her. Had it always been that way? Had she always been so unnaturally flawless?

What if he did come to love her? What if he did eventually find himself wanting to marry her? Hadn't his mother forbid it? _Mother_. The word had been leaving a bad taste in his mouth…was she even his mother? Mothers didn't act like that. Not usually at least.

He sighed and sat down on the edge of Mary's bed, "Mary…" he cooed softly, "time to get up."

Nothing.

"Marrrry," he sing-songed, "it's morning."

Nothing.

"Mary?" Again the sleeping Mary offered him no reply.

"Mary, get up." Nothing. He groaned, "You made it sound like an easy job you little rock."

Still nothing.

He moved across her so that his mouth was directly at her ear and whispered sensually, "Good morning Mary."

A small sound escaped her lips and she mumbled almost inaudibly, "Francis…" as she tangled a hand into his hair.

"Uh…Mary…" he said his eyes wide. What was she doing?

Her eyes shot opened. "Francis?" she said startled. Her brown eyes wide, "Oh my god, I thought I was dreaming…"

He laughed, "About me? Is that something you do often?"

"W-what? No…no I don't…I just…"

"Just really like whispering my name sexually in the morning?"

"I didn't…"

"You did."

She squeezed her eyes shut, her cheeks ablaze, "I wasn't dreaming about you, I swear."

He laughed, "Whatever you say."

"Francis I wasn't."

"Of course not." He said snidely, before Mary hit him with a pillow causing him to roll to the other side of the bed, he laughed and pulled one of the pillows from behind his head, hitting her with it, which sparked a back and fourth game of hitting each other with the pillows until the two fell into a fit of laughter, "I still think you were dreaming about me."

She laughed, "Well I wasn't."

"Then what did you dream about?" he asked.

Her cheeks flushed, "Nothing."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Oh shut up." She replied confirming his suspicions.

"So," he said propping himself up on his elbow next to her, "what did we do in this dream of yours."

"Things." She said her blush deepening.

"Things like…?"

"Things…"

"Things like things? But what kinds of things? Tell me."

"No!"

"Then show me?" he knew that probably wasn't his smoothest line ever, but he felt like he was on top of the world, he didn't know what he felt for Mary, but at least he knew now she felt something, however little it might be, for him.

"What do you think happened Francis?" she said he'd never seen someone blush so much in his life.

"I think, I probably did something like," he rolled so that he was over her starring down into her eyes, "this."

She squeezed her eyes shut and nodded.

"And did I do something like," he leaned down and kissed her nose lightly, "that?"

She opened her eyes, "Maybe…"

"And did I do," he placed the next kiss on her cheek, he was trying to keep things playful and friendly…he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, but he _did _want to kiss her…just to see how he felt after, "this?"

She laughed, "You know Francis, if you wanted to kiss me you could have just done it last night."

"Hey now," he said looking down at her, "this is about _you_, not me. Besides who said I wanted to kiss you…"

"Do you?"

"What?"

"Do you want to kiss me?"

He hesitated, but found himself nodding, "Yes."

She smiled and pulled him down towards her lip and then…

He woke up.

Francis shot upright, his breathing heavy; he rubbed his eyes and let himself fall back against the pillow. A dream. Just a measly dream, but something concerning none the less. He'd been told last night that nothing could happen with Mary…not that he'd initially planned on listening to his mother, but she did have a point…he owed it to his family to marry someone who could help them…not who he could help…He was wrestling against himself in a daze of confliction when his door creaked opened and Mary, still in her pajamas, scuttled inside, she smiled when she saw he was awake and jumped onto the bed, bouncing a few times before she finally settled, "I thought our deal was you wake me up, not vice versa." She said, placing her hands on his shoulder and climbing onto his stomach in a way that resembled what Lucinda had walked in on yesterday, the corner of her mouth quirking up into a what's-your-excuse smile, that faded quickly as she read the look on his face, she tilted her head to the side, "Is something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

He hadn't even noticed his face still held a look on contemplation and confusion, he forced a smile, "I'm fine, just surprised…"

"Well," she said the soft pad of her thumb brushing against his cheek, "I was worried…I heard you and your mother fighting last night…and you didn't wake me up so I just thought I'd come check on you."

His fake smile turned genuine at her gesture, "That was nice of you."

She returned his smile, though hers held an air of uncertainty, "I hope…I hope I wasn't the cause of your fight."

He shook his head, "You weren't…I promise, the fight my mother and I had was long over due."

"What was it about?"

"My future mostly…she's decided I'm madly in love with you."

"I thought you said it wasn't about me?"

"It wasn't…not really, trust me, she just decided to accuse me of being in love to spark the flame. Works every time."

"Well that's crazy." Mary scoffed, trying to play it cool, though she found it hard to ignore his words echoing through her mind.

"Yes she is."

"No I met you and me, of course you don't like me, you're a noble."

"Hey," he said looking up at Mary, who wore a bashful expression, "I may not be in love with you, but don't think my having a title makes you any less important to me."

She smiled at him, "That's nice to know," she said rolling off him and onto the matress next to him, "Now get up, you have to tell me what we're doing today so that I can get dressed."

He laughed and sat up, "Well my little brothers are coming back from school today, so we'll be going to Paris to meet them, but their train doesn't get in till four, so we'll go see the sites till then."

"So attire wise what should I wear?"

"A dress, semi-formal, we have reservations at an upper class restaurant so whatever you think fits."

"Ooo, sounds fancy?" she said thought she wasn't sure why, she'd seen her share of upper class restaurants.

"It's a tradition." He said cracking a smile, "We go there every year after picking them up."

"Well then, I'm honored to be joining you. I better get changed, see you in a minute?"

He nodded, as she made her way out of his room, he took a deep breath the second the door closed, since when had he found it hard to breath around her? When exactly had that happened?

….

Mary had chosen her clothes carefully; she was looking for something that would blend in on the fashionable streets of Paris as well as something that would be formal enough to fit in nicely at a fancy five star restaurant, she finally found the perfect dress, a mustard yellow number with tasteful cutouts at the waist delicately covered in hand sewn black lace that she paired with a black diamond necklace and black heals that were a comfortable height for walking around Paris.

She glanced at herself in the mirror and ran a hand through her ebony hair, it would do fine for the evening she had in mind.

She emerged from her room and started down the stairs, finding the other three members of the house hold sitting around the table eating their breakfast in silence, she cleared her throat and the three looked at her, Francis and Henry sharing a friendly smile and Catherine with a greatly felt displeasure.

"Mary," said Francis, his eyes wide, "you look…wow."

"Very pretty my dear." Henry added.

Mary blushed, "Thank you…"

And Catherine who hadn't said much of anything motioned for her to sit down, which she did and was immediately served a plate of delicious looking food which she joined the others in eating in near perfect silence.

When they'd finished Henry told them to wait well he called for someone to bring the car around and Mary, Francis, and Catherine found themselves in yet another awkward silence.

Mary, who'd observed upon them standing up, fit in nicely amongst the well-dressed nobles. Catherine wore a red wrap-over dress and a nude pair of sling backs, well her son was fashioned dashingly in a navy blazer and dress pants, accompanied by a tieless button down shirt and Henry had chosen a simple, but cutting edge black pant suit and a white shirt.

"You look handsome," she whispered to Francis.

He smiled, "I don't even compare to you."

She laughed, though she was sure he outshined her by a lot it was a nice thing to hear.

….

The car ride to Paris was just under two hours long, and full of silence, and countless texts between Mary and Francis.

When they finally arrived, Henry and Catherine told them they had some business to attend to and to meet them at the station at three forty-five sharp, which the two teenagers had eagerly agreed with before running off down the busy Paris street.

"That was the most awkward car ride ever, your parents must hate me." Mary said with a laugh.

"Nope, just each other, he cheats on her and she pretends not to notice, he gives her anything she wants so he doesn't have to listen to her complain, but in the end they both just really hate each other."

"Why don't they get a divorce?"

"They probably would if it weren't for Charles and Henry, who knows maybe they will…"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I won't miss hearing them fight all the time that's for sure."

She smiled, "So what do you want to do? We're in Paris, the possibilities are endless."

He returned her smiled, "You're right, but ladies choice, where would you like to go? We could go shopping or go to the Eiffel tower or just walk around and talk, it's up to you."

"Let's just walk and if we see someplace we want to go we can just go."

"That sounds amazing."

She nodded and brushed her fingers up against his, "Do you mind if I…there's such a big crowd and I don't want to get separated."

He grabbed her hand, "Not at all." His smile was calm and thoughtless as they walked down the busy streets, they found themselves talking about all sorts of things, serious things to not so serious things to the kinds of shows they watched and all the in between. Francis found talking to her was like a breath of fresh air, every laugh, every smile made him feel free and he loved it. She was a ball of light, always finding something to laugh at or some way to make him smile. Every now and then he would look at her and find himself stunned by how beautiful she'd gotten, and then she'd catch him starring and crack a joke about how he better be careful starring at her because her face would blind him, which of course he wanted to respond to with some sort of grand romantic gesture, but always ended up rolling his eyes and changing the subject.

Once it hit twelve the two made their way inside a small restaurant for lunch where they continued talking as they'd been doing all day, however when they exited the restaurant the atmosphere changed as they were bombarded by a parade of excited photographers shouting an array of questions at them:

"Francis is this your girlfriend?"

"Mary, who are you wearing?"

"Are you two dating?"

"What about Pippa?"

"Any future plans yet?

"How long have you two been dating?"

"Have you broken it off with Niall?"

And finally the one that had made Mary curl into Francis' side like a puppy who'd done something wrong, "How's the sex?"

Thankfully the pair escaped the paparazzi intact aside from a deep blush resting on Mary's cheeks.

"That was awful." Mary said clearly embarrassed by the whole affair.

Francis laughed, "It seems everyone thinks we're together."

"You mean sleeping together…" she said a bit annoyed with the photographers for making everything awkward.

"It's not such a bad thing at least they won't be saying you're with the short Irish one anymore."

"What do you have against Niall Horan?"

"Nothing, I just think if they're going to say you're with someone it deserves to be someone who loves you." He regretted saying it instantly after the words slipped out.

She looked a little taken back too, "Loves?"

"What I met to say was he doesn't deserve you…"

"And you do? Because you…love me?"

"Well no…I mean no one deserves you…I mean I don't obviously…and of course I love you, not like love, love, but love like sister love…" he wasn't sure if the look on her face was one of pure confusion or a look indicating that she didn't buy what he'd just said, he wasn't sure he bought it either to be perfectly honest, though he also wasn't sure he didn't buy it as he still wasn't sure exactly what he felt for Mary, but he was sure that'd he'd definitely screwed up.

"What?" she asked finally, raising an eyebrow.

He cringed, "I just…can we forget I ever said anything…?"

She laughed nervously, but smiled and said, "Sure."

The two walked in silence for a while before Mary finally spoke up, "You know there's something I've always wanted to do…" she said breaking the awkward silence.

"What is that?"

"You know those love locks, the ones they put on the bridge, I've always wanted to do that."

"Aren't those for couples?" he asked, having just had the awkward conversation they had he hadn't expected anything near this suggestion.

"Not just couples, I think other people put locks on too."

"And you want to?"

"Only if you do, it just seems interesting, the whole ritual, locking something up and throwing away the key, I saw the sign for the bridge a minute ago…it's right up," She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the crowd, "here." She said as they turned onto a bridge covered completely in locks upon locks and happy couples covering those locks with their own, and a few families, one or two single tourists, Francis smiled it was a nice place, he'd come here before, never actually gotten a lock, but he'd walked the bridge and it was always covered in love and happiness.

They found a booth that sold locks quickly, and picked one out, it was rather plain, just a simple gold lock, but Mary had liked it. The man glanced at them, "Want an inscription?"

Mary looked at Francis and nodded, "Mary and Francis, summer 2013."

"That all?"

The two nodded, it took the man only six minutes to inscribe the lock before he handed it back to them, he asked for the twenty euros and Mary began to retrieve her wallet when Francis swooped in with his credit card, which the man swiped and handed back to him, "Thank you sir." The man said kindly.

"You didn't have to do that I could have paid for it." Mary said as they walked away, Francis just shook his head.

"Never mind that," Francis told Mary, "So where should we put it? Where looks good?"

She smiled and pulled them towards one of the lock covered barriers, "Here?" she said bending down and pointing a spot amongst the rest of the locks.

"Looks lovely," he said watching her as she unlocked the lock carefully.

She looked up at him, "Well come on, we're supposed to lock it together." He laughed and bent down clasping his hand over hers and closing the lock into place.

He smiled, "Perfect." He whispered, she turned her head towards him, her lips mere inches away from his, their hands were still clasped around the lock, she inched towards him a little and then seemed to stop herself, took a deep breath and stood up, he followed reluctantly.

"We're not done yet, we have to throw away the key." She said with a coy smile.

"Together?" he asked.

"Together." She nodded and he stepped behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist using his other arm to wrap his hand around hers, his chin rested on her shoulder as, together, they tossed the key over the railing and into the water, he released his arm from around her waist quickly after the key disappeared into the water, possibly a little too quickly seeing as when he did she stumbled and nearly fell, tripping on her heals, before he caught her.

"Are you alright?" Again their faces were inches apart.

"Uh…I'm fine…t-thanks for catching me…"

"Anytime." He said beginning to pull away before a voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Wait! I'm sorry, I hope it's not too much to ask," a petite girl maybe a little older than them said, "but I've been out here all day taking pictures for my college portfolio, it's mainly of couples with amazing chemistry and I was wondering…would you mind letting me snap a picture of a quick kiss? I'm sorry I know it's a weird thing to ask, but I just need one more…for the cover, and you two are perfect."

Francis glanced at Mary and prepared for the familiar 'we're just friends' speech, she looked from the girl to him and then back at the girl, before doing something Francis hadn't expected her to do, she nodded, and as if she was hoping he wouldn't protest she said, "We don't mind." Which he didn't…he'd wanted to kiss her all day, but had been ninety-nine percent sure she didn't want him to.

As they waited for the girl to retrieve her camera Mary looked up at Francis, "I'm sorry I hope you don't—"

"I don't mind, after all I do owe you a redo first kiss." He said with a coy smirk.

She giggled nervously, "You do indeed."

He pulled her closer to him and put his lips to her ear, "You'll have to be the judge." He whispered.

And then he kissed her. He heard the camera flash and the girl say she'd gotten the picture, but he didn't stop, he kissed her harder, deepening the kiss with his tongue, tangling his fingers in her hair, and to his surprise she kissed him back, with the same amount of force, the same amount of passion, her arms locking around his neck as he pushed them up against the railing and kissed her harder before he actually remembered they were in public, a revelation which caused him to slow his kisses and, with much reluctance, stop. They starred at each other, both with swollen lips and tousled hair, he breathed out embarrassed, "I'm sorry I got a little carried away…" his voice was shaky as he pulled his arms away from her waist, but Mary remained frozen, looking up into his eyes, her arms staying looped around his neck.

"D-don't apologize…" she said pulling his arms back to her waist, "I've been wanting you to do that since this morning..." which was a lie on her part as she'd wanted to kiss him for a lot longer than a day.

His previously embarrassed expression changed to one of uncertainty, "Really…?"

She nodded, not even bothering to hide her blush.

He didn't reply with words but instead with a kiss, she could feel him smiling against her lips, "You're the judge remember? Better or worse?"

She laughed, "Much, much better." She whispered, kissing him again, his reply was a small, however exuberant, smile, before he finally pulled away from her and grabbed her hand.

"We better go," he said his smile from before unchanged, "we'll be late."

She followed him off the bridge, positive that nothing in the world could wipe the smile off of her face.

**AN – Thanks so much for your reviews, follows, and favorites they all mean a lot. This was a looooong chapter and it was going to be longer, but I decided to spare you. I really hope you liked the Frary in it, hehe! Sadly the next chapter will be shorter, but only because I know exactly what will happen, sorry guys it may not be all rainbows and puppy dogs, and remember a kiss doesn't always mean a relationship (but hey it might we'll see) We have to take into account that Catherine sort of hates Mary and Francis, who is still confused about how he feels, doesn't want to disappoint his family. Even so next chapter we'll get to meet the little brothers, which I am excited about and have a family dinner! WOAH CAN YOU SMELL THE AWKWARD? Because I can, anyway stay tuned and please, please leave me a review for faster updates! (Any questions or concerns just PM me or for really quick replies ask me on tumblr oswwinoswald)**


	4. She'll Never Be Royal

Chapter 4 – She'll Never Be Royal

Francis' dream was playing on a loop in his head over and over again as he and Mary reached the train station, he'd wanted to kiss her in the dream, he'd wanted to kiss her in reality, he even wanted to kiss her now, even though his parents were standing few feet away, and well half of him wanted to kiss her with every fiber of his being the other half was screaming that he'd made a mistake he'd gone and kissed her and now there was no going back, he would either make it or break it and the screaming half seemed convinced he would fuck it up.

He took a deep breath and secretly slipped his hand into Mary's without anyone noticing, her touch was calming and it made him certain he didn't want to fuck this up. He didn't want to break it, but he knew he would…there were too many spectators, too many people watching him, edging him toward twenty different decisions when he could only make one, right now he wanted to choose Mary, but Mary met losing his family and he didn't want that…but then how come when he was kissing her, or touching her, or even in the same room as her it didn't seem that bad? How come nothing seemed like too high a price? It made no since to him, not one part of it. He'd kissed before, snogged, even properly slept with women before, but none of those times had left him feeling as conflicted as his few kisses with Mary had…none of them.

He was growing more and more concerned about what exactly he was feeling when he heard Mary's voice in his ear, "Are you alright, Francis? You're squeezing my hand pretty tight."

He looked at her and managed a smiled, "I'm fine, just a little nervous," he said loosening his grip on her hand.

"It'll be fine, I'm sure your brothers will remember you." She said, voice ripe with sarcasm.

He laughed and rolled his eyes at her, "I'm sure they will too." He said using the same snarky tone Mary had used, just as he did his mother nudged him with her elbow and nodded toward two smiling young boys who were running towards them excitedly.

He dropped Mary's hand and ran to meet them scooping them up in his arms and hugging them simultaneously, "Bubba!" Henry, who was only four, said happily using his special nickname for Francis. He swung the young boys around and set them down.

"I've missed you very much," he said with a kind smile. Francis loved his little brothers more than anything, he hated that their parents had sent them to an upper class kindergarten in the country, they were so young, they needed to be with their family, or at least that was Francis' opinion.

"We missed you too Francy." Charles, the older of the two by two years, said cracking a toothless grin as he'd begun to lose his baby teeth already.

"We have all the whole summer for playing," Henry said best he could.

"Yes, we do," Francis picked up their bags, and pointed towards their parents, "Go say hello to mother and father, they've missed you too."

The boys ran ahead jumping into Catherine and Henrys arms, and giving them each a kiss on the cheek, Francis, in the meantime, had returned to Mary's side.

"They're so cute." She said her mouth turning up into a breath taking smile.

"I agree." He looked at her and grinned, "Don't worry, in a few seconds they'll be all over you."

He was right, only a minute or so after he said it, the two boys were at her feet, "Are you Mary?" Charles asked with a shy smile.

Mary nodded and bent down to their height, "That's me," she said with a kind smile that made his young brothers even more bashful, "and who are you?"

"I'm Charles," Charles said politely before pointing to Henry, "and this is Henry."

"Hello!" Henry said with a small wave.

"Hello Henry, it's lovely to meet you." Mary said waving back, "And you two Charles."

"Are you Francis' girl friend?" Henry asked innocently, though he was looking at Francis and not Mary.

Francis rolled his eyes, but gave a small, nearly unsure, nod. This made the boys much more excited, "Are you going to get married?" they asked.

This made Mary blush, she giggled, "No, not quite yet."

"If Francis doesn't marry you, I will!" Charles declared, "You're very pretty."

Mary who seemed genuinely surprised and touched by the gesture grinned at him and whispered, "I think you are much more handsome."

Charles smiled sheepishly, but whispered, "Me too."

To that Mary laughed, and stood up, "He's most defiantly your little brother." She whispered, she was just about to grab Francis' hand when little Henry swooped in and grabbed her hand as well as Francis' hand, she laughed and smiled at Francis, his brothers were too cute, a tug on her other hand indicated that Charles had her, which she found just a cute as Henry's escapade as they walked behind Catherine and Henry Sr, towards the restaurant which was only a few blocks away.

….

Minutes later the group found themselves seated around a slick black table in a five star restaurant called, "Les Joyaux de France" which was bustling with upper class couples and celebrities wearing designer dresses and gold wrist watches enjoying their perfectly seasoned steak and lobster.

Mary glanced around the table, she sat in between Francis and Charles, little Henry sitting on the other side of Francis next to Catherine and Mr. Valois who, from her perspective, sat straight across from her, though neither of them were paying Mary any attention as they were too caught up in asking the boys about school and inquiring, as normal parents do, about their school mates and teachers. Francis was listening to both Mary and his brothers as intently as possible, after the waitress brought them their drinks he leaned towards Mary and looked over her shoulder, "What is Mary having to eat this evening?" he asked with a smile Mary was finding rather cute and distracting.

"Uh, I'm not sure actually, I don't know that I can eat much, maybe I'll get soup?"

"If you'd like, I'd split something with you? I'm not all that hungry either."

She smiled and nodded, "I'd like that, you can choose, you know what's good here."

He smiled and opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Catherine, "So Mary, tell us about your father, when he called to ask if it was alright for you to stay we were all shocked, Henry and Caleb haven't been in touch in a long while, what brought that on?"

"I'm not sure actually, I was just as surprised as you."

"But you've heard of your fathers troubles with the banks haven't you? It seems his impeccable business skills aren't so impeccable these days, does it not?"

"He's had a little…uh, trouble as of late, but he assures me not to worry, just minor setbacks."

"That isn't what I've heard, I've heard he's bankrupt, I've heard the reason he sent you here is because he hopes you'll bewitch my son, maybe lay claim to some of his money one day."

Mary was a bit shocked at the accusation, "What?" she and Francis inquired at the same time.

"That's what I've heard, it seems to be the talk of the upper class these days."

"What? Me? Trying to…to what, marry into your money?"

"I wasn't really that shocked to be honest. The way you've thrown yourself all over Francis since you've been here, it reminds me of Caleb, always scraping to make more money, of course his daughter would be the same."

"_Mother._" Francis scolded.

But Mary held her ground, "I have not been _throwing_ myself all overFrancis, and I promise any attraction between the two of us isn't seeded in my so called, _need _for your wealth, I have no interest in money, and despite what you believe my lady, my father, well he does work hard, is not a beggar either…his company may crash and burn and still all that would matter to him is his family."

"Then you do not know your father, and apparently you do not know yourself either."

"No, I do. It's you who doesn't know me, or my family. Maybe you don't even know your own, I heard you and Francis fighting last night, and it seems your title is more important than his happiness to you, Henry cheats on you day and night and you just sit there and take it and you send your kids off to a boarding school at three years old…how could you possibly know your family?"

"I will not be prosecuted by a teenager."

Mary stood up, "And _I _will not be prosecuted by a misinformed house wife. Why do you hate me so much? I've been here two days and you already act as if I've overstayed my welcome. What have I done to upset you? Please tell me because I don't understand. I just wish to enjoy my summer I don't wish for anything else. Not your son, not your fortune. Nothing…so why do you hate me? Why?" She demanded, but found herself answerless.

At that point Mary was uncomfortable and close to tears, she looked at Francis who held a blank expression as if he were trying to work out what had just happened, "I…I need some air. Excuse me." She whispered as she rushed from the dining room, not stopping until she was outside the restaurant, she sat down on the steps, a tear slipped down her cheek, an hour ago nothing could have killed her happiness and now she wasn't sure anything could make her feel better. She rested her head in her hands, "Why did I think this was a good idea?" she whispered to herself, "What ever made this sound good?"

And then she thought of Francis. He was the thing that'd made the entire adventure sound pleasant. She thought of when he'd kissed her that night when they were fifteen and then about the times he'd kissed her today and how she wanted to kiss him again… Would he even want to look at her now? She'd said awful things about his mother…his own mother…could she even redeem herself for that? He'd think she was horrible, for saying those crude things in front of his brothers…he'd never want to speak to her again.

More tears came then as she realized what she'd done and then she felt and gentle hand on her back, she looked up and saw the very cause of her tears standing over her.

Francis gave her a sad smile and sat down beside her, "I'm so sorry…" she sniffed.

He shook his head and wrapped his arm around her shoulders drawing her to him, "No, don't be, my mother should never have said the things she did…it was…uncalled for, are you okay?" he asked looking into her eyes, a worried expression decorating his own blue diamonds.

"I'll be fine…I thought I mean…you'd hate me. I said some things I shouldn't have said…"

"Yes you did, but in your defense so did she. My mother deserved it." He kissed the top of her head comfortingly and chuckled, "I guess this means my mother would hate it if she knew what had happened on the bridge, huh?"

Mary's cheeks flushed, and she sniffled again, "Yes probably."

He pulled back so that he was looking at her, "Well then," he whispered, "I suppose we better keep it a secret then?" And then he kissed her softly and brushed a tear off her cheek with the pad of his thumb, "No more tears, okay? I hate to see you cry…"

She covered her face remembering her, likely running, mascara, but he moved her hands away, "No, I look like a mess Francis…"

"No," he said quietly kissing her on the cheek, "you look beautiful."

She laughed and curled into his side, "I suppose they'll want me to leave now…"

Francis shook his head, "Mother, yes probably, but Father… no, he has nothing against you and everything against her…if I tell them I want you to stay, he'll say yes, and what Father says goes…that is…if you want to stay?"

She hesitated, "I…I do. I want to stay."

His smile returned, "Then it's settled, I've found a way to occupy my summer." He kissed her again, "And maybe even," another kiss, "after summer."

She blushed vibrantly, "I'd like that."

"Me too." He said twirling a strip of her hair, "We should probably go back…don't worry though, I'll protect you from the big bad mother." He stood and then pulled her to her feet.

"Just one more kiss? For good luck?" she said looking up at him from under a pool of thick black lashes.

He pulled her to him by her waist and kissed her, this time with force, with passion, when they pulled apart he looked down at her, not even paying attention to the camera flashes of the six or seven photographers that stayed continuously camped out in front of the restaurant, "You don't have to ask." He whispered.

She kissed him, the first kiss she'd instigated, "Now I know."

**AN - Hey hey hey what did you think? DRAMA LITTLE MOMMA! haha, okay anyway leave me a review! Next chapter may be sort of frustrating at first. but just wait! Anyway thanks for your reviews be sure to leave more! (message me on tumblr if you have questions, maybe I'll give you a small spoiler? oswwinoswald) **


	5. I Miss Our Little Talks

Chapter 5 – I Miss Our Little Talks

It'd been a week since Catherine and Mary's fight and Francis had barely said a word to her since their talk on the restaurant steps, the words he had said hadn't been of many, mainly the usual words used for an acquaintance or someone else you merely tolerated: Good morning, Good afternoon, probably others if he'd spoken to her enough for there to be more than that. The only other thing he'd said to her was, "My father wanted to tell you, you can stay here for the remainder of the summer, in honor of a previous agreement with your father." That was all he'd said and then he'd walked away as if that were to only reason she was staying…because of a previous business agreement.

She'd tried not to let Francis' cold persona ruin her summer, she focused mainly on Charles and little Henry who were always itching to play with someone and with Henry and Catherine busy and Francis seemingly busy too, they picked her as their new favorite person, of course unlike her, Francis did make some time for them in his busy schedule which was just too awkward for her to endure so she'd disappear off into her room and call Keena or Greer or one of her other friends, that's what she was doing now.

"He's just being him. You remember him as a kid don't you? He was super bipolar always, but I have to say Francis picked an awful time to be Francis…" Keena ranted.

"I don't know Keena…maybe he just, maybe I was too…forward or rude or…I don't know."

"You? Forward?" Keena scoffed, "You're one of the least forward people I know, I mean, have you met me? And besides even if you were forward, who cares? He'd have to be crazy or gay to say no to you, you're beautiful Mary."

"Maybe he doesn't think so?"

"Everyone doesn't share your opinion on your looks Mary, just because you think you look like a kitchen maid doesn't mean anyone else does, especially not Francis, he's a guy and you're you, let nature take its course."

"I just don't understand why he's ignoring me?"

"You said his parents don't approve maybe that's why?"

"He said we could keep it a secret…"

"Maybe this is how he keeps secrets? By ignoring them?"

"At this point it's not even a secret…it's just some mistake he wants to pretend never happened."

"Well he can't really do that...I mean…the tabloids are covered with pictures—"

"What! With pictures of us? How is that even…" she faintly remembered two sets of photographers and one petite university student, "Oh my god…do you think he's seen them?"

"I think his parents probably have, which means, yes, I think he saw them."

"Well that's just the icing on the hate Mary cake isn't it?" Mary said, her tone discouraged, she was nearly ready to give up on this whole summer and go back to Scotland, sure at first it had been a less desirable scenario than a beautiful summer in France, but at this point anything was better than being stuck in a stuffy mansion where only two of the homes five residents would even look at you. She sighed, "Maybe I should just come home?"

"No!" Keena said, "No, Mary you can't just give up. I'm not going to let you come home before you at least try and speak with him, please Mary, promise you'll try?"

"I _have_ tried Keena, but every time I try to extend a conversation past the how-do-ya-do's he slams a door in my face."

"Literally?"

Mary thought about Wednesday when he actually had slammed his bedroom door in her face, "Sometimes."

"Then don't let him, next time he tries to slam a door, put yourself between him and the door, at least try one more time and then you can come home…one more time."

Mary rolled her eyes, "One more…but if it doesn't work then I _am_ coming back Keena. I am."

"And you should, but just try okay?"

"Okay…" she was about to ask Keena about things on the homestead when there was a knock on the door she looked at the phone and whispered, "Keena hold on a second." Before raising her voice and saying, "Come in." she hoped the person on the other side was Francis, but instead found it was Charles.

"Hi Mary!" he said, this was the first time she'd ever seen him unaccompanied by Henry, and it was strange.

"Hello!" she said in a faux cheery tone, "What brings you to my room Charlie?"

He looked up at her with the same cornflower blue eyes as Francis, "I was wondering if I could ask you something…about my brother…"

Mary was skeptical, but nodded and motioned for him to wait, turning her attention back to Keena, "Hey uh Charles just came in, can I call you back?"

"Ooo, who's Charles? Oh never mind tell me about him when you finish, bye Mary." Classic Keena.

"Bye." Mary said with a small laugh before turning her thoughts back to Charles, "So, what did you want to ask me?"

"I just wanted to know why I never see you and Francis with each other anymore? Since the day Henry and I came back you haven't been in the same room once…but you looked so happy that day…I was just thinking…was it us? Did we make you guys hate each other?"

"What? You? No of course not, I actually don't know why he hasn't spoken to me…but I sincerely doubt you have anything to do with it." She didn't really want to tell the child it was actually because of his mother.

"But…I thought…Francy really, really likes you Mary…he's always talking about you, but I thought you were mad at him because you never talk about him like he talks about you…"

She was genuinely surprised, "What does he say?"

"Mostly that your pretty, and that he likes your laugh, I think what he actually said was, 'I love her stupid laugh' but that doesn't sound very nice so I didn't want to repeat it, once I said you always smelled like cinnamon and he said that you also smelled like vanilla…he must pay a lot of attention, I guess…" she smiled hopefully and grabbed a strand of her hair, sniffing it mindlessly, her shampoo was vanilla scented, but it was nearly undetectable when she wore her usual raspberry cinnamon perfume.

"He said that?"

Charles nodded, "And lots of other things too, but I can't remember all of them…but why don't you ever say things like that about him?" the boys asked. Mary blushed, she thought about things like that often, but was far too shy to say them aloud.

"I mean, I don't know I just…"

"Do you not like him too?"

"No, I do, I just…I thought he didn't like me, at first I thought he did, but after this week…I don't know…"

"Well he does." Charles slid off the bed, "thanks for answering me…mommy and daddy never answer me right…"

"Anytime." She said smiling as she watched him go.

….

With the encouragement she'd gotten from the combination of Keena and Charles, Mary decided she'd try and talk to Francis after dinner.

The entire family, plus Mary, were sitting in the living room, Catherine was playing with Henry Jr, happily on the floor, Henry Sr was laughing about something with Charles, and Francis and Mary sat at separate ends of a very long couch.

Eventually, Mary looked over to Francis, who coincidentally looked over at her in the exact same moment, "Can I talk to you?" Mary mouthed.

Francis glanced at his family and then back at her and managed a small nod, to that Mary stood and excused herself for the night, she waited outside for a solid twenty minutes before Francis joined her, "What do you want?" his voice was sharper than he'd intended.

"I want you to stop ignoring the fact that I exist…" she took a deep breath and continued, "What happened? At the restaurant you acted like I actually mattered and what now, it's like I'm chopped liver? I don't get it…I know you think of me…Charles told me about some things you said and…I just…I don't get how you can claim to like me so much about me, but you can't even look at me…Why do you—"

And he kissed her, pushed her up against the wall and kissed her like he'd been waiting years, his lips moved over hers and then down her neck before returning back to her lips, she felt his hands trace over her body, leaving hot flares wherever they touched her skin, when he finally pulled away her lips were swollen and her hair was a mess and she didn't know if she could remember how to stand, "I'm so sorry Mary…my dad agreed to let you stay, but when he saw the photographs in the tabloids…he…well more like he with the influence of my mother, told me the only way he'd let you stay is if I could promise to keep away from you…so I did…I should have told you, but I could never find a time."

Then Mary did something unexpected, she slapped him, straight across the face, "No, you don't get to do that. You don't get to ignore me for an entire week after the kind of fight between me and your mother and then just kiss me and say you're sorry, no. If you need to ignore me for an entire week you sure as hell better tell me about it because I thought you hated me. I thought you'd finally realized I wasn't worth your time. I was going to leave. Go back to Scotland, so that I wouldn't be such a bother to you anymore."

He seemed stunned by the slap, but not upset, "A bother? You? Mary…if it were up to me…I'd have spent every second of this past week with you. I'd have gotten you up every morning like I promised I'd have been there…but it's wasn't up to me…"

"I don't understand…what your parents have against me."

"I don't either, but for some reason they don't want me with you, they don't even want me to look at you," he placed a gentle hand on Mary's cheek, "but keeping my eyes off you is too hard…" His lips were hovering near hers.

"Forget about they want…what do you want?" Mary whispered looking up at Francis.

He hesitated, his eyes on her lips, "I want you. All of you, I want to see you every day and laugh with you and joke with you, I want to have picnics with you under the dogwood trees and grab you by your waist, I want to spin you around and…kiss you…god I want to kiss you…"

They were so close now she could feel his breath on her neck, "Then kiss me." She whispered. She nearly wasn't able to finish her sentence as Francis swooped her into a breathtaking kiss, that she came out of in a daze, "You know…" Mary whispered her arms still locked around his neck, "you could do all of those things."

"Not without my parents knowing…"

"If you want to, I'm pretty positive we can make it work without your parents knowing, but I can't stay away from you anymore…not when you're right in front of me."

He nodded, "I want to…"

"Thank god," she kissed him, "I should go to bed…your parents will be suspicious."

He smiled sourly, "You're right…I should return…Goodnight Mary."

"Goodnight." She said tugging out of his arms and turning towards her room, though she felt she should be happy and excited for their new arrangement she remembered an arrangement resembling this one rather closely from only a week ago that hadn't held even a pint of water so her faith that tomorrow would be kinder wasn't as restored as she'd have liked it to be.

**AN – wow it took me forever to write this but I was pretty busy with Christmas and all so forgive! The next chapter shouldn't be long seeing as I'm already half done with it, I was gonna attach it to this but I decided it needed more so yeah! Please leave me a review and tell me what you thought! Thanks so much to all my readers ily!**


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